labarum

labarum
/lab"euhr euhm/, n., pl. labara /-euhr euh/.
1. an ecclesiastical standard or banner, as for carrying in procession.
2. the military standard of Constantine the Great and later Christian emperors of Rome, bearing Christian symbols.
[1650-60; < LL, of obscure orig.]

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▪ Roman military
      sacred military standard of the Christian Roman emperors, first used by Constantine I in the early part of the 4th century AD. The labarum—a Christian version of the vexillum, the military standard used earlier in the Roman Empire—incorporated the Chi-Rho, the monogram of Christ, in a golden wreath atop the staff. The flag was made of purple silk (purple dye being at this time a rarity derived from a shellfish of the genus Murex) richly embroidered with gold. Although usually suspended from a horizontal bar, it appears to have been displayed occasionally by fastening one of its sides to its staff. In the Middle Ages the pastoral staff of a bishop often had attached to it a small purple scarf known as the vexillum, supposedly derived from the labarum.

      According to the 4th-century historian Eusebius (Eusebius of Caesarea), in his Life of Constantine, before the victory over Maxentius (312), Constantine saw a sign of the cross in the sky and the words “in this sign thou shalt conquer” and used it as a talisman in battle. Dating of the labarum is attested by coins issued at Constantinople (now Istanbul) after Constantine's victory over Licinius in 324.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • labarum — [ labarɔm ] n. m. • 1556; mot lat. ♦ Hist. Étendard romain sur lequel Constantin fit placer la croix et le monogramme de Jésus Christ avec l inscription latine « In hoc signo vinces » (par ce signe tu vaincras). ● labarum nom masculin (latin… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • labarum — LÁBARUM s.n. Stindard imperial roman pe care Constantin cel Mare a pus crucea şi monograma lui Isus Cristos. – cuv. lat. Trimis de LauraGellner, 16.05.2004. Sursa: DEX 98  lábarum s. n. Trimis de siveco, 10.08.2004. Sursa: Dicţionar ortografic  …   Dicționar Român

  • Labărum — (lat.; mittelgriech. labaron), bei den Römern die von Konstantin d. Gr. eingeführte Reichsfahne, eine lange Lanze mit einem Querbalken, daran ein purpurnes Fahnentuch mit den in Gold gestickten griechischen Anfangsbuchstaben des Namens Christi (s …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Labărum — Labărum, 1) römisches Feldzeichen, welches schon zur Zeit der Republik u. der früheren Kaiser vorkommt, wo Bezug auf Siege über die nordischen Barbaren (Germanen, Sarmaten etc.) genommen wird; bes. 2) Standarte Constantins des Großen u. seiner… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Labărum — Labărum, hieß in der spätern Zeit dann auch das bloße Monogramm = XP, d.i. Christus, welches auf Siegeln, Ringen, Hausgefäßen als christliches Emblem angebracht wurde …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Labarum — Lab a*rum, n.; pl. {Labara}. [L.] The standard adopted by the Emperor Constantine after his conversion to Christianity. It is described as a pike bearing a silk banner hanging from a crosspiece, and surmounted by a golden crown. It bore a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Labarum — Labărum, Kreuzfahne, in der spätröm. Zeit die kaiserl. Hauptfahne des Heers. Sie trug seit dem Siege Konstantins d. Gr. über Maxentius (312 n. Chr.) an ihrem obern Ende das Christusmonogramm (s.d.) …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Labarum — Labarum, röm. Feldzeichen; seit Kaiser Konstantin die Hauptfahne, in Kreuzform, mit den griech. Anfangsbuchstaben des Namens Christi Χ P, oder auch mit dem Christusbilde, das kunstvoll in die Seide gestickt war …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • labarum — [lab′ə rəm] n. pl. labara [lab′ərə] [LL (> LGr labaron) < ?] the royal cavalry standard carried before the Roman emperors in war, esp. that first carried by Constantine, the first emperor to adopt Christianity: it usually bore the first two …   English World dictionary

  • Labarum — For the XP symbol, see Chi Rho. Labarum of Constantine I, displaying the Chi Rho symbol above. The labarum (Greek: λάβαρον) was a vexillum (military standard) that displayed the Chi Rho symbol ☧, formed from the first two Greek letters of …   Wikipedia

  • Labarum — Christusmonogramm aus Nordisk familjebok Chi Rho …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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